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Pennsylvania Track License Competition Heats Up

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania – As reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "New Castle businessman Carmen Shick has added a nationally known casino company to his team seeking to build a Lawrence County harness racing track that eventually could have up to 5,000 slot machines.

"Shick's attorney, Frank Salpietro, disclosed at a state Harness Racing Commission hearing yesterday that Isle of Capri Casinos, which operates 14 casinos in several Southern and Midwestern states plus a harness track in Florida, will be a minority partner and investor in Bedford Downs.

"Shick has proposed a $500 million track/casino/hotel/retail/entertainment project on 550 acres of flat, undeveloped land that his family owns west of New Castle, near the Ohio line.

"…Shick is competing for the license against Centaur Inc., a horseracing/gambling company based in Indianapolis.

"…Of the two competitors, the one that gets the final harness racing license will -- under the law signed in July that expands gambling in Pennsylvania -- be eligible for a separate, state-issued license for thousands of lucrative slot machines.

"…Michael Finio, a lawyer for Centaur, complained at the hearing that Shick had just told him a few days ago about the addition of Isle of Capri to the Bedford Downs team, and asked commissioners not to let Shick make any more last-minute changes in an effort to improve his bid for a license…"

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